Streams

Morning Headlines | Must-Reads from the WNYC News Hub

Thursday, June 14, 2012

POLITICSPresident Obama Endorses Rep. Clarke(Capital Tonight)“With just two weeks to go before the June 26 primary, President Obama has issued a statement of support for Rep. Yvette Clarke, a Brooklyn Democrat who is facing a challenge from Sylvia Kinard, the former wife of former NYC Comptroller and once-and-future NYC mayoral candidate Bill Thompson.”

RELIGIONChurch Battles Efforts to Ease Sex Abuse Suits(NYT)Laurie Goodstein and Erik Eckholm report: Victims and their advocates in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New York are pushing legislators to lengthen the limits or abolish them altogether, and to open temporary ‘windows’ during which victims can file lawsuits no matter how long after the alleged abuse occurred. The Catholic Church has successfully beaten back such proposals in many states, arguing that it is difficult to get reliable evidence when decades have passed and that the changes seem more aimed at bankrupting the church than easing the pain of victims.”TRANSPORTATIONCity to Roll Out New Wheel Boot Program As Soon As Monday(NYDN)Vera Chinese reports: “The city is planning to boot ticket scofflaws by the end of June, a city official confirmed Wednesday. The three- to six-month pilot program will begin in Brooklyn, then Queens and Staten Island and will be eventually rolled out citywide.”BUSINESSBill Introduced to Legalize Sunday Morning Brunch(NYT)Eric P. Newcomer reports: “The movement to legalize Sunday morning brunch on New York City sidewalks took a step forward on Wednesday. Three City Council members introduced a bill that would allow restaurants to start serving diners at sidewalk tables at 10 a.m., two hours earlier than the law currently allows.”EDUCATIONTeacher Hit With Statutory Rape Charge(NYDN)Oren Yaniv reports: “The married Park Slope mom faces seven years in prison on each rape count if convicted. A lawyer for the tattooed teacher didn’t return calls. The student’s family also is pursuing a $10 million lawsuit against the city Education Department.”UTILITIESCity Collects Millions More in Water Bills(NYDN)Reuven Blau writes: “The city is on pace to collect a record $3 billion in water bills this year — even as the amount of unpaid invoices has soared to $582 million, the Daily News has learned. The sharp uptick is a 30% spike from the $2.1 billion collected from homeowners and businesses in 2008, according to data obtained via a Freedom of Information Law request.”REAL ESTATEA Profitable Vestige of Cold War Precaution(NYT)Sam Roberts and Noah Rosenberg report: “To the Lagos, however, the shelter was just another part of their home they had to worry about and maintain. ‘We never come in here,’ said Mr. Lago’s wife, Maria. Besides being a historical curiosity, the city’s designation of this forgotten room carries a tangible benefit — a tax break that has saved the Lagos thousands of dollars over the years.”HOUSINGFew Answers for Angry Bronx Tenants Displaced by Fire Escape Removal (NYDN)Daniel Beekman writes: “The homeless tenants of 2400 Webb Ave. packed the pews of a Bronx church Tuesday night to grill the city officials who evacuated their building last week after the fire escapes were illegally removed. More than 100 anxious residents volleyed furious barbs at representatives from the Buildings Department and other city agencies. But landlord Phillip Goldfarb, who had a contractor remove the fire escapes last month without a permit, skipped the emergency meeting.”POLITICSNY Senate Proposes Law to Bar Welfare Spending on Booze, Cigarettes and Other Vices(NYP)Carl Campanile reports: “Legislation is being introduced in the state Senate that would bar welfare recipients from using their public-assistance money to buy booze or cigarettes or spend money on lottery tickets or in casinos, The Post has learned. The proposed law also would impose a ban on welfare spending on adult-oriented entertainment, such as strip clubs.”NYPDStop-and-Frisk May Be Due to Bad Record Keeping, Mayor Says(DNAinfo)Jill Colvin reports: “Speaking to reporters in the Bronx, Bloomberg suggested the controversial 600 percent increase in stops recorded by police since he took office — a figure that has caused outrage among civil liberty groups — may actually be down to poor bookkeeping in the past.”ENVIRONMENTState Supreme Court tosses anti-RGGI lawsuit(TImes Union)Casey Seiler writes: “Acting State Supreme Court Justice Thomas McNamera has dismissed a lawsuit brought against the state last summer seeking to yank New York out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the multi-state cap and trade program that auctions off carbon credits to polluters. The suit’s lead plaintiff [is] Lisa Thrun, a Buffalo leader of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political action group supported by oilmen David and Charles Koch that is linked to the tea party movement.”

Feeds

WNYC 93.9 FM and AM 820 are New York's flagship public radio
stations, broadcasting the finest programs from NPR, PRI and American Public Media, as well as a wide range of award-winning local
programming. WNYC is a division of
New York Public Radio.